Parking decision likely next month

Liberty Lake residents will have to wait a little longer to find out whether parking will be permanently banned on many narrow lakeside roads.

After a second public hearing Tuesday, Spokane County commissioners decided to deliberate the issue on March 24 and make a decision at their regular 2 p.m. meeting on April 6.

The Spokane Valley Fire Department has imposed an emergency parking ban on the Fourth of July since 2005, when firefighters had difficulty reaching a man who suffered a heart attack on a dock.

A fireworks barge exploded about 10 minutes after the medical call and other fire crews had trouble finding a route around the truck that responded to the heart attack call.

Five residents testified Tuesday against a permanent parking ban. Several said expanding the Independence Day prohibition would be “overkill.”

Lou O’Connor said he has lived on Wright Boulevard for 27 years and has seen six fire and medical emergencies without access problems.

“Who wants to live in a neighborhood that is plastered with ‘no parking’ signs?’ ” O’Connor asked. “How do you have friends over to visit?”

But Fire Marshal Kevin Miller said barricade rental and overtime to install them for the Independence Day parking ban costs the fire department $3,000 to $4,000 a year.

The roads are narrow all year long and, Miller said. “If we can’t get past, seconds count.”

Commissioner Todd Mielke said commissioners might create legal liability for the county if they fail to act on a fire department safety warning.

“I share your concern,” Commissioner Mark Richard said.

Miller said the originally proposed parking restrictions on 22 roads were pared a bit after a public workshop meeting last summer.

He said parking restrictions on Overlook Road were dropped entirely when a resident removed a hedge and tree, allowing fire trucks to negotiate a tight corner.

The problem is not just that fire trucks are wide, but also that they’re long.

“They don’t bend in the middle,” Miller said.